Aston Martin announced last week that it is to invest another £50 million to make its second major UK manufacturing facility at St Athan in South Wales the marque’s centre for electrification, as well as the production base for the revitalised Lagonda brand (www.global.astonmartin.com).

The company revealed this news ahead of production starting on its first battery electric vehicle, the Aston Martin Rapide E, of which 155 will be built in the Vale of Glamorgan from next year.

Driven by zero-emission powertrain technologies, Lagonda heralds the beginning of a new range of luxury vehicles that will commence production in 2021.

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin president and group CEO, said: “Aston Martin sees itself as a future leader in the development of zero-emission technologies, and I am delighted that St Athan will be our ‘home of electrification’ for both the Aston Martin and Lagonda brands.”

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: “The UK has world-leading expertise in manufacturing and developing low-carbon vehicles.

“This investment is yet another vote of confidence in our highly competitive automotive industry.”

Aston Martin St Athan is now in the third and final phase of becoming a ‘state of the art’ vehicle assembly facility, in which production of the company’s first sports utility vehicle (SUV) is due to begin in late 2019.

The project includes the conversion of three super-hangars on the former Ministry of Defence site.